Calories vs eating wholesome foods vs six times a day = confused.
First of all I know I've had a problem with being scared of eating too much. But I've really been worrying, and wondering how healthy really eating a lot of points is. I mean, it's great for a lot of people. But tonight for instance, I have such a hard time eating so much food that I always have to force myself to find something else to eat! Tonight we went to the movies and if I get popcorn I usually just get a jr or a small. Tonight I had so many points left that I needed to use up I went straight for a medium popcorn just to satisfy my points needed for the day. This is not healthy! this is a godsend for my dh, because he is a VERY bad snacker. If it was'nt for his snacking, he wouldn't have a problem. But for me, I feel like it's making me eat the way I'm not wanting to eat, which is "for me", unhealthy.
I know WW works, but I'm really wondering where do we draw the line on the perception of eating six times a day, or so many points a day IF your not hungry! To be honest I'm really getting confused on this because I almost feel unhealthy eating this way. I WANT to feel hungry occasionally! I think it's healthy! I know I normally eat pretty healthy if I'm not eating out, because I love my fast food. But I don't want to start the year off by allowing myself of these daily bad choices because I'm allowed too, when all it is is a trigger for me. Does that make sense?
I'm done with my week tomorrow, which I haven't lost anything. There is basically two programs still on WW, so I'm going Simply Filling this week (pretty much old Core). Think it might fit more into my lifestyle on how I think is the correct way to eat.
I'm just wondering on what everyone's input on this. I feel so strongly the past few months on eating lots of fruits, veggies, and lean meats. I really believe I have learned so much from this. This kind of food intake though is pretty low on calories. But then there is so many people saying eat so many times a day, or so much more calories than this is the right thing to do. I'm having a hard time deciphering between what I believe is a healthy way of eating vs which way will help me lose the fastest. Is it only me that thinks they can't lose eating so much??
Hol, it's been over a year that I've listened to your struggle. And I am sorry for your struggles. I wish you weren't so frustrated.
I would love to see you stop overthinking and just live life, including your diet.
Would it be so bad to simply determine your calories and know your food options?
I forget how much you weigh, but let's say your intake should be 1800 calories. Why not plan what the meals will be to get to 1800 and know you can choose healthy snacks? I mean, why not stop this mess with all the unhealthy diet junk food options and know that if you want a snack it's fruit or cheese? Why not know that if you want a meal it's veggies and protein? and maybe a low glycemic starch.
I think you would feel better knowing that if you wanted a snack, you ate an apple and some cheddar....how wholesome. Not movie popcorn or diet choc chip cookies or something...
But to your question, if the points are accurate to calories (I don't feel they are, but regardless), and you are at the right calorie level, yes, it's important to eat 6x a day to keep the fire of your metabolism burning. It's simply like keeping a fire going by adding a log, rather than waiting so long it has slowed down to an ember and takes a lot of effort to get going. And to eating "so much", you could be feeling "stuffed" because the choices like movie popcorn are very filling, like a spunge in your gut, or because you saved so much throughout the day that you are stuffing yourself to catch up. Plan better to feel better. And to so many calories, it is important to eat enough calories to fuel weight loss. Personally, I believe one should eat to resting BMR, period, no questions asked...no "my metabolism is slower than that". Feed your metabolism to fix it.
Lastly, your general frustration. I think your expectations are very high for how you should lose weight. I think they are normally high as per our culture, but mistakenly high. Be happy with a consistent half pound to up to 2 pounds a week. Be prepared that that's an average over time and not how the week will go. This was a biggee for me, took a year to get my head straight on it, so I understand. The bigger numbers encouraged by diet programs are about the scale and not about what you're losing. Losing more than 2lbs a week is losing muscle which will kill your metabolism. Allow it to be slow for better long-term results....
I eat at least a little sumpn sumpn every three hours to keep the fire stoked and then I don't eat anything past 8 o'clock so that I go to bed just slightly hungry and not stuffed. I'll tell you, once you get used to that, if I end up eating late, I feel bloated! So I just can't imagine eating into the night just to get to a points allotment...that just ain't right!
Holly Rachel...Have you been on that SCALE???
Mary
No, you are not alone in thinking that way. But WW is the first program that helped me realize that eating regularly all day long did help me lose weight. I've said many times before that it made me realize how "all over the map" my eating had been most of my adult life.
My pattern was basically to not eat much all day long, then eat majestic amounts later in the day. Part of this was due to my body is not hungry at all early in the day, but the problem with indulging that somewhat physiological fact was that I WAS indeed going to become hungry at some point (boy howdy).
I guess what I think is that it is much more useful to stay ahead of that hunger. WW is one way. Having a restrictive plan like atkins is another. getting prescribed foods from a bariatric doc or jenny craig is another.
I think whatever works for a person is fair game as long as one does eat foods all day long.
WW points is a generality - a guideline. WW has never ever promoted the idea that eating 36 points of worth of say, cake, is a good idea. We've has this argument here before. I don't even wonder what would happen to me: maybe I'd lose weight and maybe I wouldn't but I can promise you all that i'd be one miserable being at the end of day 2.
WW did the exact opposite for me - it turned my attentions to making sure that the points i did consume to highly nutritious foods: meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, higher quality grains.
For me, the idea of WW is that we are NOT going to be 100% on any plan, therefore the angle is to more wisely incoporate foods that are not as nutritious. Hol, I have lost weight eating pocorn as a snack on WW. In this society, who can really tell me they will NEVER eat less great choices? I can see statistically that percentage is no greater than 2-5% - the general average of folks who lose significant weight and keep it off.
I got tired of tracking points and the way too responsive scale weighing - it brings me down too much to know I followed plan and then see no loss or worse, a gain. I can read between the lines I just typed - it is MY attitude that makes success happen.
As has been said - the long term is what we want, not a series of numbers that make or break our moods. Tender as those are in us fatchicks. This journey really is about more than weight loss. It is about feelin gin control for once. About not feeling like a sausage stuffed to the slitting point. About having energy enough to go take a walk or play softball with grandsons and keep up with everyone.
Truth is, accountability is VERY important; scale tracking is key to at least stay in touch with. I have years of personal data to confirm this: when I don't look at what i'm doing, i gain weight - a lot of it.
Most importantly: It is an excuse to stop b/c we are not seeing the instant grats of all our hard work. Big deal...we have to work at this a lot, for not much sometimes. We need to move past that "poor me" attitude to begin to get success.
I will likely go back to WW once more. There's too much that really does work about it.
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." ~Mark Twain
I have to point out: all WOE's have a defined parameter: whether one tracks points, carb grams, calories, exercise styles/hours, it's all the name of the same game: restriction served up however you like it.
I am reading Gary Taubes book Good Calories Bad Calories and it occurs to me that the devil is in the detail. Nobody can intelligently dispute that overall, people are living longer, sugary-carby-transfatty foods notwithstanding. Most data shows that obese people and thin people suffer the same maladies in just about the same proportions. Cetainly, for a mulitude of very good reasons, it is better to be of a lower weight.
For me, the lesson is Moderation in All Things.
For food/drink: I would not meander too far off the path of eating moderately. This is a subjective term, to be sure. But I know one thing: eating too much of any food is not good. We have become neurotic about food, in my opinion; this is not hard to figure out why - the so called facts and studies are extremely misleading and mind boggling. A variety of simple foods eaten in defined portions is the best plan i can put forth.
As for exercise, i have worked very hard and i have not worked much - and i know for sure that working at it to any degree most days, even though it may not make the scale goes down, makes me feel great physically, spiritually. When I do too much, i feel wasted. When I do zero, i feel sluggish and bummed out.
Finding that middle ground is how i will finish out my life.
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." ~Mark Twain
As has been said - the long term is what we want, not a series of numbers that make or break our moods. Tender as those are in us fatchicks. This journey really is about more than weight loss. It is about feelin gin control for once. About not feeling like a sausage stuffed to the slitting point. About having energy enough to go take a walk or play softball with grandsons and keep up with everyone.
Truth is, accountability is VERY important; scale tracking is key to at least stay in touch with. I have years of personal data to confirm this: when I don't look at what i'm doing, i gain weight - a lot of it.
Most importantly: It is an excuse to stop b/c we are not seeing the instant grats of all our hard work. Big deal...we have to work at this a lot, for not much sometimes. We need to move past that "poor me" attitude to begin to get success.
It took a heck of a lot of head work and support to let go of the scale. I now get on once a week, maybe less. And guess what, I don't get surprised with a huge jump as I feared...because I "do the do" of my program (usually).
That's all it really comes down to, I think. Finding what works, then doing it without such fear and thought and well, letting it come naturally.
A year and a half after I stepped in the gym, I've become this woman who is okay that the scale reads over 200lbs because after all, I'm now a 14! I'll take that over my 26/28s! I'm okay that I may always be heavier for muscle--it's worth it.
My trainer would often ask, which was more important to me, size or lbs--it took a while to get it. Sure, I could have WLS or diet alone restrictively and lose muscle and become a size 8 or whatever, or I could accept the scale regardless. I accept it now and down the line.
It's a good thing....
And accepting it, I stopped letting it tell me I'm a failure because I haven't lost x lbs. Instead, I see my successes in other things and the scale will move accordingly.
I think its important to just eat your points. There are SO MANY ways to eat a lot of points with a small serving of food, and have it be a healthy snack. A handful of almonds is 4 pts. Nuts in general are full of points, and most are great for you. Add nuts to a serving of full-fat yogurt and add some dried fruit and you'll have a 10 pt. snack right there. Or have strawberries and walnuts on ice cream (regular, lowfat, sugar free .. . they all have too many points for a mere 1/2 cup serving. lol) Add chocolate syrup if you want. Have veggies and melt some cheddar cheese on them (4 pts. for a mere 1 oz. cube!), or have a salad with a nice oil-based vinaigrette. Have veggies with a dip made from full fat sour cream.
The best dressing in the world is full of points ... lime wasabi!! Courtesy of Nigella Lawson. All it is is about 1-2 tb. of wasabi paste (up to you how spicy), 6 tb. lime juice and 4 tb. vegetable oil, salt to taste. Shake it up (it will look light green and creamy) and pour it over some mixed greens ... WOW best salad dressing EVER!! And goes GREAT with roast chicken and baked sweet potatoes ... I make this dish all the time because its just delish and very easy and fast. WW mandates that you have 2 tsp. of healthy oil a day, so this fits right in to the plan. ;)
I think though, if you are not hungry and have points left over at the end of the day, just don't eat them. But if you can enjoy some nuts while you watch tv (or a movie!) to add a quick 8 pts. to your day, do that. Just move on to the next day if you can't or don't want to eat your leftover points. I think the "rule" is though that you can't eat them on another day.
If this is an ongoing problem you should supplement full fat items for lowfat or fat free items in your diet. This will add calories without adding volume. You won't be at those points for very long, anyway. They'll be down before you know it.
Hope this helped! 
Thanks for all your replies.
Jerz, you made me cry.lol In a good way though. :) Mary..of course I got on the scale! :) But it's not why I posted this (even though I've still gained two pounds...hehe). Necee and Beautiful had some great points of course. Beautiful- this isn't my first time on WW. I've been on it numerous times in the past. A few times more successful than others. Think the first time I was in WW meetings I was ten years old.
I didn't mean to make this about my intake of food personally. Although I do appreciate the comments. I think it's interesting and gets my mind going sometimes thinking about the different ways poeple do things. There is so many people out there that think purity of clean foods is best, and/or cleansing of the body. Then eating six times a day to keep your metabolism burning, they both sort of clash. Which I'm feeling myself clash with how I've been eating. I think it's the first time I've ever been totally aware of what I really want, and believe, vs what society or others tells us....and that includes the way my dh wants to eat! Think that part right there is putting a BIG damper on this. He isn't into clean foods like I am, and not into wanting to learn more raw styles of eating like I am. It's jusrt hard, it's like two or three different types of worlds of eating that tend to clash. Do you know what I maen?
I'm fighting with myself today on what to do. I know..like Jerz said I overthink too much. She's right, I analyze things way too much, but it's just the way I am. I just really feel like I want the "beginning" of my future to finally begin! And this past week I haven't been to happy with it, but at the same time I don't want to give up. Guess I'm just sort of confused.lol Maybe I'm pms'ing.haha
Oh and Necee, I told my dh what you said. He wasn't too happy with it.hahahaha
on 1/2/09 11:44 am
Stop overthinking it, girl! If you want to eat 'clean' or raw or points or low carb or whatever, just commit to taking care of your body - which means eating healthy foods and moving and loving yourself. If you want to incorporate different parts of established programs, that's fine. That's what I did. I created my own plan - one that I could live with the rest of my life.
Five years ago, I didn't set out to lose weight. I started by making a commitment to love myself - and that meant eating healthy, exercising and working through the reasons why I got so fat.
Just live....and make changes as you can...and commit to being healthy.....and you'll succeed.
Kim
